The Best Akron Ohio Wet Basement Waterproofing Waterproofer Help
Is Waterproofing Your Home A Good Investment?
Basement remodeling proves to be an excellent investment, provided they are permanent solutions to flooding. Wet basements can hardly attract prospective home buyers’.
Water leakage is one of the main basement problems depreciating a home’s resale value by 25 %. Most realtors disapprove selling a property with flooded basement and counsel their clients to fix basement leaks, before putting up their house for sale.
Basement remodeling creates or adds to the living and storage space to one’s home by nearly 33% to 50%. The 2005 cost vs. value report of the remodeling magazine has indicated that a home owner can recoup 90.1% of the basement renovating expenses at the time of resale. Basement waterproofing is often found to be the permanent solution to basement mold that ruins the health of the family.
A recently published report shows nearly 92 % of prospective home buyers avoid purchasing a home with wet basement. These studies have been supported by historical data maintained over the years.
And this is why waterproofing ranks the highest in terms of adding value to your property through basement improvement. That’s why waterproofing and fixing basement leaks is truly an investment than an expense and its among the top home remodeling options available to a home-owner.
That’s why for almost every home owner, it’s safe to say that basement waterproofing offers one of the highest long term investment returns for your property, AND adds a large amount of usable space to your dwelling.
“The Questions to Ask Before You Decide to Waterproof”
Q Do I have a sump pump in my basement and is it working? A The most common cause of water remaining in a basement is a non-functional sump pump. Check to see if you already have one installed, and if it’s functioning properly to pump out the water already coming through your floor and foundation. A simple repair or upgrade of a non-functioning sump pump will quickly and easily dry a wet basement
Q What year was my house built and does it have footer drains? A Most houses built before the early 1970’s did not have footer drains. So over time, the amount of water pressure on your basement walls overcame any exterior waterproofing that might have been applied when built. Also, should the house have been built with footer drains, you want to see if they are clogged.
Sometimes clogged or broken footer drains are a big culprit of letting water pressure build up behind your walls and will let the water leach through regardless of your foundation or floor. Fixing them or opening them up will often get the water away from your foundation and out of your home.
Q How is the soil slope around your house. Does it slope away from your walls or down to them? A Soil slope is very simple, but often a common cause of water entering foundations and basements. The reason is that you want at least a 5 degree or more slope of the soil around your foundation to go AWAY from the home. When you have soil that angles AT your home’s foundation, it serves as a guide for the water to run to the walls and eventually work their way into your house. Often a simple addition of a good claybased soil to your foundation walls, graded two or more feet down and away from the house will solve a nagging water issue.
Q Are your gutters clogged, or do they over run in heavy rains? A Very, very common is clogged gutters that over run during heavy rains. This is especially important if you have trees over and around your house. Leaves and other tree debris that clog your gutters will stop the rain from running out the downspouts and therefore away from your foundation.
Should the gutters get clogged, water will run over them at the base of your foundation walls and work it’s way into your basement. That’s why you should annually or semi-annually clean your gutters and downspouts and eliminate a very common source of water entering your basement.
Q What type of soil do you have around your house? A If you have a sandy soil that drains well, chances are you’ll have less amount of water entering from your walls, floor, or foundation. Heavier clay soils that hold water and don’t drain well are common culprits of wet foundations and higher hydrostatic pressures on basement walls. Know the soil type around your home and see if it commonly holds water, or if it’s the type that drains.
Q Is there any “pockets” of open and loose backfill around your foundation that could serve as a water funnel to your basement walls? A In some cases, especially where a crawlspace, root cellar, water well access, or heating oil tank was removed, you get a pocket area around the foundation that was backfilled. If the fill used was large rocks, broken concrete, or other items that form air pockets around them, chances are you’ll get water filtering thru them and possibly landing right at the base of your foundation or floor.
Unfortunately, in this instance where a previous access to your basement wall was not properly sealed and backfilled, the only way to cure the water intrusion is to dig it back up and backfill with the right materials as well as re-seal the wall or install exterior drains.
Steve Morgan is an expert at helping homeowners get the right information and ask the best questions before they decide to waterproof their home and choose a waterproofing contractor.
His goal is to to homeowners in Akron and N.E. Ohio learn:
- What You Need to Know Before You Waterproof Your Home - How to Get The Most For Your Money on a waterproofing job - Get Exactly What You Want and Not Get Ripped-Off
His "how-to" Waterproofing Buyers Guide is found at http://www.AkronHomeWaterproofing.com